Greetings From Interim Dean Earley – September 2024

Dear Friends,

After a few years working in Harkins Hall as associate provost, it is great to be back in the Providence College School of Business on a daily basis. I am inspired by regular interactions with my faculty colleagues – many of whom were already here when I first arrived as an accountancy professor in 2008 and have continued as collaborators and friends ever since. And I am drawing on the palpable energy our students create by their enthusiasm and their curiosity. That is what keeps the Ryan Center buzzing from early morning well into the evening every day.

One of the business school’s greatest assets is the passion and commitment of its alumni. I can verify this on a personal level because my daughter earned a marketing degree in 2017 and remains intensely interested in the school’s progress. I welcome these regular opportunities to share my perspectives with you and I hope you will engage with us by attending events, like our Dean’s Symposium, mentoring students, or joining our social media networks to stay up to date on everything that is happening with our students and our faculty.

We owe a debt of gratitude to Sylvia Maxfield, the business school dean since 2012. As you may know, Dr. Maxfield is serving the college as interim provost for this academic year. Her leadership and vision will serve Providence College well in that critical role, and those same attributes will benefit us directly here in PC Business as I work closely with her and the other deans – in collaboration with the faculty — to define and shape academic policy and programming.

The ultimately successful pursuit of AACSB accreditation was a top priority for the then-still young business school when Dr. Maxfield came to PC 12 years ago. She asked me to serve as the first associate dean, coordinating faculty scholarship efforts and to working with my faculty colleagues to facilitate research activity. From that foundation, we have built an impressive and impactful business scholarship enterprise, expanding knowledge across all four of our core disciplines and benefiting our students in tangible ways.

The success of that effort is one of the things that gives me a great deal of confidence taking on this new role, and I am looking forward to working with the PC Business faculty to support them in every aspect of their critical work – teaching, research, and service. I know firsthand from my many years as an accountancy professor the challenges faculty face, and the incredible satisfaction that comes from helping a student succeed, from creating scholarly product such as a research paper, or from providing the expertise that helps a business or agency solve a problem.

The path before us is full of opportunity, as we work to build on the incredible progress of the last several years and – with focus on our students and ensuring their futures – add to our programming in meaningful ways. I am grateful for your ongoing interest and support and I look forward to continuing to be in touch with you.

Sincerely,

Christine Earley, Ph.D.
Interim Dean